Madonna wins 2026 MTV VMAs Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift accepts Artist Director Honor

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards wowed audiences on Sunday night as Madonna brought out high-energy dance numbers and Taylor Swift made history.

Here are the highlights from the 2026 VMAs.

Madonna performs with Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX

Madonna took the VMAs stage at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, her first time peforming at the award show in over 20 years, announcing: “It’s mother.”

She opened the show with newly iconic imagery from her recent album, “Confessions II,” including green lasers and hordes of cameras following her and Sabrina Carpenter around.

The two performed “Bring Your Love” together, which later won the Best Collaboration award, before Madonna transitioned into another dance-fueled club number, “Danceteria” with Charli XCX. The performance featured appearances from several stars who had cameos in “Confessions II — The Film,” including Debi Mazar and Julia Garner.

Madonna later took home Artist of the Year.

Kacey Musgraves pays tribute to Dolly Parton

Kacey Musgraves paid tribute to Dolly Parton on Sunday after the VMAs played a short video of the late country music superstar. Musgraves sang “I Will Always Love You,” a song Parton released in 1974 that took on a second life when it was later recorded by the late Whitney Houston.

Parton, one of the most groundbreaking and successful musicians in the history of country music, died last month after a brief battle with cancer.

LISA performs “SaWaDiKa”

K-Pop star LISA performed her new single “SaWaDiKa” in the song’s TV debut. Part of the performance included the singer riding in the front of Thailand’s iconic tuk-tuk taxi.

Earlier in the night, she accepted the Best Pop award for “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi.”

Nirvana accepts Video Vanguard award

The surviving members of genre-defining grunge band Nirvana were given the Video Vanguard award, recognizing their contribution to the form. 

The tribute included archival footage of late frontman Kurt Cobain discussing the process behind the making of several of the band’s videos, including “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are” and “Heart-Shaped Box”

Taylor Swift makes VMAs history, debuts “Patient Zero” music video

The VMAs also brought a milestone for Taylor Swift, who was given the VMAs’ first-ever Artist Director Honor, which organizers said recognizes artists “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling.”

Swift thanked her fans and everyone she has ever collaborated with on her music videos. She then premiered the music video for her new single “Patient Zero,” which stars Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.

The new accolade, plus her other wins Sunday night, made Swift the show’s most-awarded artist ever with 33 VMAs. She was previously tied with Beyoncé, who has 30 Moon Persons. 

Swift also won Video of the Year and Best Direction, and was nominated in nine other categories, and paid tribute to “the ultimate showgirl” Dolly Parton in her acceptance speech for the final award of the evening.

“I think we were all very lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton for a time,” she said.

Madonna wins big

In addition to her opening performance, Madonna also collected a slew of Moon Persons on Sunday.

The Queen of Pop was nominated in 13 categories, the most of any artist, and went home with seven wins: Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Dance, Best Long Form Video, Best Album, Best Cinematography and Best Choreography. 

She now has 27 VMAs across her career.

“It’s been a while since I did one of these things,” Madonna said when accepting her first award of the evening. “So, I’ve prepared nothing.”

Later, when accepting the Artist of the Year award, she joked, “First of all, I would like to thank my fingers because I can always count on them.”

Swift’s three awards, including the Artist Director Honor, tied her with K-Pop stars BTS for second-most wins on the night.